“My parents had been married for thirty years when I was born, and they had long since given up any hope of having children. My mother always says it was a miracle, a blessing straight from God, if you’ll pardon me for being so pompous.” He grinned mischievously at them. “My father always said that it was a bit of the devil. He died several years ago, and he was a charming man. You would have liked him,” he assured them as he started the Daimler. “My mother was forty-eight years old when I was born, which really is quite amazing. My father was sixty, and he was eighty-five when he died, which isn’t bad. I must admit, I miss him. Anyway, the old girl is quite a character. Perhaps you’ll have a chance to meet her before you leave London.” He looked at Sarah hopefully, but she was looking pensively out the window. She was thinking that she was too comfortable with him, that it was all too easy. But the truth was that it wasn’t easy at all. They could never be more than passing friends, and she had to keep reminding herself of that, particularly when he looked at her a certain way, or made her laugh, or reached out and took her hand. There was no way they could ever be anything more to each other. Nothing more than friends. She was going to be divorced. And he stood fourteenth in line to the British throne. When they arrived at the hotel, he looked down at her as he helped her from the car, and he saw that she looked worried.

“Is something wrong?” He wondered if he had said something to offend her, but she had seemed to have such a good time, and she had clearly enjoyed trying on die jewels in the Tower. But she was angry at herself, she felt as though she was misleading him, and she owed him an explanation. He had a right to know who and what she was, before he wasted any more kindness on her.

“No, I’m sorry, I just have a headache.”

“It must have been that stupid, heavy crown I made you try on. Sarah, I’m terribly sorry.” He was instantly contrite, which made her feel even worse.

“Don’t be silly. I’m just tired.”

“You didn’t eat enough lunch.” Her father reproached her, he had seen the look of dismay on the younger man’s face and felt sorry for him.

“I was going to invite you all out to dinner.”

“Maybe another time,” Sarah was quick to say, and her mother looked at her with an unspoken question.

“Maybe if you lie down,” she suggested hopefully, and William watched Sarah’s face He knew that there was something more going on, and he wondered if there was a man involved in it. Perhaps she was engaged to someone, and she was embarrassed to tell him. Or her fiancé had died. She had mentioned a year of great sorrow. … He wanted to know more, but he didn’t want to press her.

“Perhaps tomorrow for lunch?” He looked Sarah straight in the eye and she started to speak and then stopped.

“I … I had a wonderful time today.” She wanted to reassure him. Her parents thanked him and disappeared upstairs. The two young people had earned the right to be alone, as far as they were concerned, and they sensed that Sarah was having some inner conflicts about him.

“What do you think she’s going to say to him?” Victoria asked her husband with a worried frown, as they rode upstairs.

“I’m not sure I want to know. But he’ll weather it. He’s a good man, Victoria. He’s the kind of boy I’d like to see her settle down with.”

“So would I.” But they both knew there was no real hope of that. He would never be allowed to marry a divorced woman, and they all knew it.

Downstairs, in the lobby, William was looking at Sarah, and she was being vague in answer to his questions.

“Could we go for a walk somewhere? Do you feel up to that?” She did, of course, but what was the point of going anywhere with him, or even seeing him again? What if she fell in love with him? Or he with her? Then what would they do? But on the other hand, it seemed ridiculous to think of falling in love with a man she had just met, and whom she would never see again once she left England.

“I think I’m just being very stupid.” She smiled. “I haven’t been around people in a long time … not men, anyway … and I think I’ve forgotten how to behave. I’m really sorry, William.”

“It’s all right. Would you like to sit down?” She nodded and they found a quiet spot in the corner of the lobby. “Have you been in a convent for the past year?” he asked her, only half teasing.

“More or less. Actually, I threatened that for a while. It was more like a convent of my own making. I stayed in my parents’ beach home on Long Island.” She said it quietly, he had a right to know, and it didn’t seem so unusual now, or as desperate as it had then. Sometimes it was hard to remember just how terrible she had felt when she’d been there.

“And you stayed there for a year without seeing anyone?” She nodded silently in answer, her eyes never leaving his, not sure what she should tell him. “That’s an awfully long time. Did it help?”

“I’m not sure,” she sighed as she spoke honestly to him, “It seemed to at the time. But it made it very difficult to come back out into the world again. That’s why we came here.”

“Europe is a good place to start.” He smiled gently at her, and decided not to ask her any difficult questions. He didn’t want to scare her off, or cause her pain. He was falling in love with her, and the last thing he wanted was to lose her. “I’m glad you came here.”

“So am I,” she said softly, and she meant it.

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

“I … I’m not sure … I think we were going to the theater”—but it was a play she knew she didn’t want to see—The Corn Is Green, by Emlyn Williams. “I really should ask my parents.”

“If not, then tomorrow?”

“William…” She seemed about to say something important to him, and then she stopped, and looked at him squarely. “Why do you want to see me?” If the question seemed rude to him, he didn’t show it.

“I think you’re a very special girl. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“But I’ll be gone in a few weeks. What’s the point of all this, for either of us?” What she really wanted to say to him was that she knew there could be no future for them together. And knowing that, it seemed foolish to pursue their friendship.

“The point is that I like you … very much … why don’t we face your going when we get there?” It was a philosophy of his, live for today, I’ve for now, don’t borrow trouble from the future.

“And in the meantime?” She wanted guarantees that no one would get hurt, but even William couldn’t promise her that, no matter how much he liked her. He knew neither her history nor what the future held for them.

“Why don’t we just see…. Will you have dinner with me?”

She hesitated, looking up at him, not because she didn’t want to, but because she did, too much so. “Yes, I will,” she said slowly.

“Thank you.” He looked at her quietly for what seemed like a long time, and then they stood up, and the men at the desk noticed how handsome they were, and how well they looked together. “I'll pick you up at eight o’clock then.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs.” She smiled as he walked her to the elevator.

“I’d rather come up to your rooms. I don’t want you waiting alone here.” He was always protective of her, always careful and thoughtful.

“All right.” She smiled at him again, and he kissed her on the cheek again when the elevator came, and took off across the lobby with a long stride and a wave, and Sarah rode upstairs, trying not to feel her heart pound in anticipation.






Chapter 6





HE bell to their suite rang at exactly five past eight, and Sarah had no way of knowing that William had been waiting downstairs for the past ten minutes. Her parents hadn’t minded her not going to the theater with them, particularly since she was going out with William.